Nomad Foods to acquire Findus’ European arm for £500m

Packaged foods company Nomad Foods will acquire the continental European operations of Findus Group for £500m ($780.7m).

Nomad, which was created by entrepreneurs Martin E Franklin and Noam Gottesman to acquire companies in the food industry, will pay for the deal with £400m cash and 8.4 million ordinary shares to private equity firms including Highbridge Principal Strategies, Lion Capital and Sankaty Advisors.

As per the deal, Nomad will acquire Findus’ continental European businesses in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, France, Spain, and Belgium.

However, the remaining parts of the group, including Young’s Seafood Limited in the UK, that were involved in the infamous horsemeat scandal of 2013 will stay with Findus.

The operations that will be a part of the transaction include around 1,500 employees, with annual revenues of approximately €600m.

Nomad currently operates Findus in Italy, through Iglo Foods Holdings and its subsidiaries.

Nomad’s CEO Stéfan Descheemaeker said: "This transaction is in line with our growth strategy, an exciting addition to the Nomad portfolio, and a significant milestone in reaching our goal of building a global consumer foods company.

"While the operations we are acquiring are strong, attractive assets on their own, combining them with our existing businesses creates a unique value proposition and unlocks new growth opportunities."

Findus Group CEO James Hill said: "This transaction represents a strategic milestone for Findus and is a positive development for the European food industry as a whole.

"The new group will be bigger, stronger, more efficient and more innovative than its component parts, offering significant benefits not only to consumers, but to all of our stakeholders."

The current Findus transaction, combined with Iglo, will create a frozen food giant with products spanning fish fingers, peas and microwavable lasagna.